Objectives of the Repeat Victimisation Toolkit

The Government is supporting Crime & Disorder Partnerships in developing robust community safety strategies and action plans, which are:

• Responsive to community concerns: partnerships are encouraged to develop strategies in consultation with local communities. We know that much crime and disorder is not reported to agencies and this is particularly so for people who are repeatedly victimised. Focusing on repeat victimisation automatically draws you to high crime areas and on discovering the real experience of crime and disorder suffered by individuals and communities.

• Evidence-based and led: a robust analysis of repeat victimisation will make an important contribution to the local crime and disorder strategy and will inform the decision making process for partnerships in identifying which problems to tackle. In designing solutions to these problems, emphasis is placed on methods that have reliably been shown to work in similar contexts or- where this not available – on sound principles. The research on repeat victimisation not only demonstrates the existence of this pattern but points to ways of utilising the pattern to prevent its occurrence.

• Outcome focused: partnerships are encouraged to set clear targets and monitor and evaluate the outcomes of their work, and adjust the interventions implemented, in the light of this activity. Preventing repeat victimisation has been shown to demonstrably reduce crime and disorder.

This repeat victimisation toolkit is part of an extensive programme being put in place to support partnerships to achieve reductions in crime and disorder. It offers practical advice and guidance on how partnerships together with stakeholders and their communities can:

• Identify local problems

• Determine local action

• Implement local action

• Assess local action

It provides information on the latest developments, research findings and promising approaches to tackling repeat victimisation. It includes tools for identifying problems, developing responses and monitoring progress at local neighbourhood level with the aim of making communities safer and creating sustainable areas, in which people wish to live, work and stay.

A holistic, strategic approach to repeat victimisation is recommended throughout the toolkit:

• Prevention – helping individual victims not to become repeat victims and addressing locations whose features are enabling repeat victimisation to take place

• Enforcement; targeting offenders who repeatedly offend against the same people, locations or items.
  

Much of the information on repeat victimisation has come from research and development programmes with police forces in the UK. Inevitably this means that many of the examples in this toolkit are police examples. However, the toolkit also sets out the underlying principles of repeat victimisation and approaches to tackling it. These are generally applicable to the range of crime reduction agencies, most of whom will have a role to play in reducing repeat victimisation.

Police officers may be familiar with some of the content of this toolkit, as it has drawn on Preventing Repeat Victimisation: the police officers’ guide published in 1997 by the Home Office. This toolkit reflects more up-to-date findings.

This repeat victimisation toolkit is one of a series of 22 toolkits designed to help all those involved in crime reduction to work as effectively as possible. The effectiveness of the toolkits relies on your help. We very much welcome contributions and advice on how to improve their content and their approach. There are details on how you can help at ‘Innovation’